How We Made Your Mother

Introducing Family Lore

Family Lore is a weekly narrative podcast that celebrates and investigates ancestral mystique. Each episode begins with a guest sharing a fascinating family legend, followed by a historical deep-dive to uncover the truth and meaning behind the tale. Available now: https://link.pscrb.fm/f0281/FLFD To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy [https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

"That's Not How it Happened" | Instagram Live 1/11/26

This special How We Made Your Mother Instagram Live episode features producer Alek Lev in conversation with Craig Thomas, co-creator of How I Met Your Mother, centered on Craig’s novel That’s Not How It Happened. Over an intimate, wide-ranging 54-minute discussion, Craig unpacks the personal origins of the book—drawing from his experience parenting a son with a disability—while exploring language, representation, and the loneliness parents often feel navigating disability without a shared vocabulary or community. The conversation traces how those lived experiences intersected with his time on HIMYM, why he ultimately chose not to mirror his real life directly through Marshall and Lily, and how years of frustration trying to tell disability-centered stories in Hollywood led him to write a novel instead. Craig dives into the book’s multi-perspective, non-linear structure (very much in the HIMYM storytelling DNA), his commitment to avoiding both “inspiration porn” and tragedy narratives, and his goal of making a story about disability that is genuinely funny, human, and messy. Along the way, audience questions spark candid reflections on friendship, guilt, advocacy, inclusion, creative responsibility, and the idea that every character—and every person—is standing on some kind of life “cliff.” The live concludes with gratitude to the disability community, readers who felt seen by the book, and the shared hope that telling these stories helps people stay connected instead of pulling away.  CONNECT WITH THE SHOW: Official Website [http://www.howwemadeyourmother.com] (Send us your audio and written messages) Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/howwemadeyourmother/] READ JOSH’S MUSELETTERS ON SUBSTACK: Subscribe HERE [https://joshradnor.substack.com]. CRAIG’S BOOK IS AVAILABLE! Head over to CRAIG’S WEBSITE [https://craigthomaswriter.com/novel] to order your copy of THAT’S NOT HOW IT HAPPENED. SUPPORT PEDIATRIC CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE RESEARCH: Click HERE [https://www.howwemadeyourmother.com/makeadifference] to learn more and donate today. FOLLOW THE OFFICE LADIES: Check out "Office Ladies" at https://officeladies.com/ [https://officeladies.com/]or wherever you get your podcasts! Follow on Instagram: OfficeLadiesPod [https://www.instagram.com/officeladiespod/] Follow on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@officeladiespod?_t=ZT-8y1gqTrJyOs&_r=1] AND MORE: Josh’s Official Website [https://www.joshradnor.com] Josh on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/artist/43jyNhxEcJZ2YbwioBjCbY] Craig’s Official Website [https://craigthomaswriter.com] (with links to his published writing) Alek’s “Dead Fathers Society” on Substack [https://aleklev.substack.com] To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy [https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

General Questions | Instagram Live 2/4/26

This February 4 Instagram Live episode of How We Made Your Mother brings together Josh Radnor, Craig Thomas, and producer Alek Lev for an expansive, warm, and frequently hilarious conversation that doubles as a love letter to the show, the podcast, and the community that’s grown around both. Broadcasting at a new midday time to reach international fans, the trio talk about why they started the podcast, how listener voice notes and letters have become its emotional core, and what it’s been like revisiting How I Met Your Mother nearly two decades later. Topics range from New York winters, unrealistic sitcom apartments, long-term storytelling payoffs and accidental continuity errors, to Craig’s emotional reflections on the end of The Late Show legacy after his formative years writing for Late Show with David Letterman. Josh opens up about rediscovering pride in the series after years of distance, becoming a fan of the show himself, and how the podcast has softened his relationship with Ted Mosby and the audience. The group shares behind-the-scenes stories about the origins of running jokes like the Major General salute, the ripple effects of tiny life choices, fan proposals sparked by the podcast, and the optimism behind the phrase “People Will Dance,” which may soon become merch. Along the way they shout out fans tuning in from around the world, reflect on music’s role in the show (and Josh’s late-in-life songwriting journey), and close on the idea that HIMYM now belongs to its viewers as much as its creators—something all three clearly cherish. CONNECT WITH THE SHOW: Official Website [http://www.howwemadeyourmother.com] (Send us your audio and written messages) Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/howwemadeyourmother/] READ JOSH’S MUSELETTERS ON SUBSTACK: Subscribe HERE [https://joshradnor.substack.com]. CRAIG’S BOOK IS AVAILABLE! Head over to CRAIG’S WEBSITE [https://craigthomaswriter.com/novel] to order your copy of THAT’S NOT HOW IT HAPPENED. SUPPORT PEDIATRIC CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE RESEARCH: Click HERE [https://www.howwemadeyourmother.com/makeadifference] to learn more and donate today. FOLLOW THE OFFICE LADIES: Check out "Office Ladies" at https://officeladies.com/ [https://officeladies.com/]or wherever you get your podcasts! Follow on Instagram: OfficeLadiesPod [https://www.instagram.com/officeladiespod/]Follow on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@officeladiespod?_t=ZT-8y1gqTrJyOs&_r=1] AND MORE: Josh’s Official Website [https://www.joshradnor.com] Josh on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/artist/43jyNhxEcJZ2YbwioBjCbY] Craig’s Official Website [https://craigthomaswriter.com] (with links to his published writing) Alek’s “Dead Fathers Society” on Substack [https://aleklev.substack.com] To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy [https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

How We Met a Listener: Jessica [SPOILER Alert!]

Major Spoiler Warning! This episode contains major spoilers for the entire run of How I Met Your Mother, including the series finale and where the characters ultimately end up. If you haven’t finished the show yet and want to avoid spoilers, you may want to skip this one and come back later. The conversation also goes deeply into themes of grief, loss, and death, which some listeners may find emotionally heavy.   Josh and Craig share a deeply personal conversation with Jessica, a fan whose life took on unexpected parallels with the show after her husband died from a congenital heart condition shortly before the podcast launched. Jessica reflects on what the series—and especially the finale—came to mean to her after experiencing loss, while Josh and Craig talk about the show’s long-running themes of love, time, change, and the possibility of finding happiness again even after heartbreak. CONNECT WITH THE SHOW: Official Website [http://www.howwemadeyourmother.com] (Send us your audio and written messages) Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/howwemadeyourmother/] READ JOSH’S MUSELETTERS ON SUBSTACK: Subscribe HERE [https://joshradnor.substack.com]. CRAIG’S BOOK IS AVAILABLE! Head over to CRAIG’S WEBSITE [https://craigthomaswriter.com/novel] to order your copy of THAT’S NOT HOW IT HAPPENED. SUPPORT PEDIATRIC CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE RESEARCH: Click HERE [https://www.howwemadeyourmother.com/makeadifference] to learn more and donate today. FOLLOW THE OFFICE LADIES: Check out "Office Ladies" at https://officeladies.com/ [https://officeladies.com/] or wherever you get your podcasts! Follow on Instagram: OfficeLadiesPod [https://www.instagram.com/officeladiespod/] Follow on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@officeladiespod?_t=ZT-8y1gqTrJyOs&_r=1] AND MORE: Josh’s Official Website [https://www.joshradnor.com] Josh on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/artist/43jyNhxEcJZ2YbwioBjCbY] Craig’s Official Website [https://craigthomaswriter.com] (with links to his published writing) Alek’s “Dead Fathers Society” on Substack [https://aleklev.substack.com] To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy [https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

How We (...Wait for It...) | S2E22 "Something Blue"

Josh and Craig wrap up Season 2 by revisiting the emotional finale where Marshall and Lily get married and Ted and Robin realize they can’t build a future together despite loving each other. They talk about the episode’s clever mystery structure, the heartbreaking couch scene, the meaning behind the title “Something Blue,” and the hopeful reset that sends Ted and Barney back out as wingmen. The episode also includes the story of a real marriage proposal that happened during filming of the café scene, reflections on how the show balances comedy with real relationship truths, and a moving – anonymous – fan letter about a couple whose relationship began over a shared love of the show.  CONNECT WITH THE SHOW: Official Website [http://www.howwemadeyourmother.com] (Send us your audio and written messages) Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/howwemadeyourmother/] READ JOSH’S MUSELETTERS ON SUBSTACK: Subscribe HERE [https://joshradnor.substack.com]. CRAIG’S BOOK IS AVAILABLE! Head over to CRAIG’S WEBSITE [https://craigthomaswriter.com/novel] to order your copy of THAT’S NOT HOW IT HAPPENED. SUPPORT PEDIATRIC CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE RESEARCH: Click HERE [https://www.howwemadeyourmother.com/makeadifference] to learn more and donate today. FOLLOW THE OFFICE LADIES: Check out "Office Ladies" at https://officeladies.com/ [https://officeladies.com/] or wherever you get your podcasts! Follow on Instagram: OfficeLadiesPod [https://www.instagram.com/officeladiespod/] Follow on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@officeladiespod?_t=ZT-8y1gqTrJyOs&_r=1] AND MORE: Josh’s Official Website [https://www.joshradnor.com] Josh on Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/artist/43jyNhxEcJZ2YbwioBjCbY] Craig’s Official Website [https://craigthomaswriter.com] (with links to his published writing) Alek’s “Dead Fathers Society” on Substack [https://aleklev.substack.com] To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy [https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]